


Magic Sparks

by canettealonzo



Category: Kate Daniels - Ilona Andrews
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, F/M, Family, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Humor, Love/Hate, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-27
Updated: 2013-06-27
Packaged: 2017-12-16 08:26:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/860025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canettealonzo/pseuds/canettealonzo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Kate and Curran has a daughter? What if Roland finally finds Kate? </p><p>Now the safety of Kate and Curran is in the hands of their daughter, Aisleen. </p><p>Equipped with  sarcasm and funny remarks, Aisleen travels with Cepheus, Bran's son, to find a way to end Roland and save her parents.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Being that I was the Beast Lord's daughter, freedom wasn't the greatest option for me. Jim was now staring at me as I plucked my two daggers from the dead tree trunks. I sighed. "Do you really have to watch me while I do this Jim?" He snickered. Great! I'll take that as a definite no. I showed him my perfect grimace. "Don't look at me like that my lady. You know that your father is only doing this to keep you safe".

"Keep me safe from mosquito bites you mean."

"You know what I mean."

"No, I don't. I don't understand why he has to have the head of security of the pack to guard me while I train. I'm eighteen years old for Christ sake!"

Jim rolled his eyes and sighed. I turned around and saw Dali, the vegetarian tigress behind him with Ember, their bouncing baby boy.

"Would you guard Ember like this if he was my age and is perfectly capable of protecting himself?"

"No, I wouldn't. He has to learn how to survive on his own."

"My point exactly. Turn around." I pointed to where Dali and Ember where walking.

He rolled his eyes and turned around. There's my chance. While Jim turned around and walked towards Dali, I shifted into my snow leopard form. I dashed towards the woods, feeling the air wheeze behind me.  _Take_ _everything_ _you_ _can_ _Aisleen. It_ _won't_ _last_ _long._ Somewhere behind me, I heard a distant roar. Great! So Simba decided that Kiara went too far already. I ran as fast as I could and turned where the keep's gate stood. Mahon was there. Oops. Oh well, it was worth a try. I shifted to my human form and took the robe Mahon handed me. Only the Beast Lord and his daughter could shift and still stand upright.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mahon asked, a gentle smile touched his lips.

"Ugh. Now that you're blocking my gate to freedom and my dad is probably blowing his mane behind me, I guess I'll be going nowhere soon."

"Touché." Derek snickered, beside Mahon.

A loud roar erupted behind me. I slowly turned around and saw Curran, his furry majesty, and also my father in his half-form behind me. Uh oh. This is trouble with a capital T.

"Aisleen Maeve. You will explain this moment." He threatened.

"Or else?" I asked.

He roared loud enough to scare the shit out of the people around us.

"You know dad, threats come with the 'or else you'll be grounded' or maybe the 'or else you can't train for the next two weeks' kind of stuff."

"Why the hell did you inherit your mother's smart mouth?" He cursed.

"It's kind of a package deal dad." I rolled my eyes.

"You'll never escape the keep, Aisleen."

"Oh, don't be so sure dad." I said with defiance.

"Oh, I am sure. Very sure in fact."

Before I could smother him with another retort, Aunt Julie, my mother's ward, glided down the stairs.

"She'll escape one way or the other Curran." She said with a smile.

"She's just like Kate, only three times more incorrigible." Derek added.

"Where's mom anyway." I asked.

"Nowhere near enough to defend you, apparently." Jim said.

_Ugh, what did I ever do to deserve this?_

"Fine dad, you win! I'll tolerate Jim to death." I said in a defeated voice as I made my way to my room in the keep. Having a room in the keep was like having my own studio type loft somewhere in Unicorn Lane. Except for the fact that Unicorn Lane was a spot on deathtrap to anyone, and my room was only a spot on deathtrap for me. I cut my deep reverie short and jumped on the tub. Being the Beast Lord's daughter had its own perks. Having a tub with heated water and bubble generator was one of them. I sighed in contentment. Nothing calms me more than water against my skin. I had an unnatural affinity towards the element itself. I was half shape shifter, a quarter witch, and a quarter vamp navigator. Need an explanation? My dad was Curran, the beast lord and my mom was Kate, the daughter of Roland and a witch. That makes me a mix breed, a very mixed breed at that. I could shapeshift into a snow leopard with silver eyes when I wanted to. I could also command water and pilot some vamps if I try hard enough. Hence, the twenty-four-seven bodyguard duty of Jim and Derek. As if that wasn't enough. I had always been in a tight house arrest. I can't go farther than the Keep's grounds or else dad will go into another state of hysteria and mom would kick him in the groin and every other shifter in the keep will be in for another bad afternoon with the Beast Lord. The tub felt so relaxing and water was my element and I was so sleepy.

"Aisleen, wake up." I opened my eyes to see Kate, my mother, her hair disheveled as usual.

"Hi mom."

"Hi darling, I heard that his furriness bawled you out again."

"The usual mom, where've you been?"

"Andrea, needed help to fix some stuff at the office."

"Who's dead."

"Not dead, darling. Almost."

"Raphael?"

She nodded. "Andrea almost shot his balls off."

"The usual then." I smiled.

"Yup, the usual." She mirrored my smile. I looked so much like her. I had brown eyes and dark brown hair that falls on my waist, so much like hers. That also meant that I looked like Erra. Scratch that. She's uglier. I smiled at the thought.

"Can you get me out of this place mom?"

She thought about it for a while and said. "Only for a day."

"Really?"

"Really."

"When?"

"Soon darling." She said and left me in my tub.

I dressed up and headed to my room while drying my hair. I was just putting on my shoes when someone knocked on the door.

"Yes?" I asked as I opened the door.

"The Beast Lord requires your appearance to greet the boudhas in tonight's dinner party, my lady."

I turned around and walked towards the bed. Dropped the towel I used to dry my hair then applied light make-up then followed the shifter towards the dining hall.

The dining hall was nothing short of magnificent. A chandelier complemented the ceiling and an army of food servers paraded around the table. Curran, my father, sat at the head of the long table, my mom sat on his right and I sat on his left. The dinner started and ended like most dinners with the boudhas, meaning, Aunt B lecturing me about being a proper pack princess and Raphael, setting the gloom on everyone. _Great. This_ _couldn't_ _get_ _any_ _better._  The dinner ended and my mom and dad escorted me to my room.

"No funny business, Aisleen." Dad said with a stern glare.

"You'll get your time darling." Mom promised.

Dad gave her the beast lord stare and mom returned a challenging look. They're gonna go at it again. They never grow tired at pissing the hell out of each other.

"Goodnight mom, goodnight dad." I said and gently closed the door behind me. Knowing them, they would probably break a couple of furniture while trying to inflict bodily harm on each other. I laughed and walked towards my bed. I changed into my night clothes which consist of white shorts and a gray sweater, and no, I don't wear sheer night gowns.

I took my two silver daggers and placed it under my pillows. A precaution taught by my mother.

Sometime in the night, I woke with a start. I smelled blood.   _No. Why_ _would here_ _be_ _blood_ _in_ _the_ _Keep? I_ _must_ _be_ _dreaming._ Then I heard a scream, a loud and desperate scream, my mother's scream. Then I heard a loud roar.  _Something's_ _wrong. Something's_ _very_ _wrong._ I dashed out of my room carrying my two daggers with me. Then I saw it. A man with dark hair and red eyes was gripping my mother's neck.

"Dair!” I screamed and sank all my power into the word. The monster flinched and dropped my mother. Dad grabbed mom and me and ran as fast as he could in his half-form. The monster screamed in frustration behind us. Dad stopped at the woods not far from the keep's grounds. He laid mom on the soft grass. She was wounded very badly. I stood there, my feet frozen in shock.  _What_ _the_ _hell_ _just_ _happened?"_

"Aisleen." My mother gasped.

"I'm here."

"Take this and run. Leave Curran and me. We can hide ourselves but you, you have to keep running." She said, handing me a topaz pendant on a silver chain. That’s my mom, still as badass as ever.

"That's a wolf diamond, Aisleen, the last one of it. It's set on a silver chain because unlike other shifters, silver doesn't harm you in any way at all. I want you to run. I want you to never stop running until your mother and I end this and kill your grandfather. I want you to live. We both want that. We love you so much." Dad said the words so filled with emotion that it shook me a lot. What was happening? Dad rarely took off his Beast Lord mask and mom was rarely injured this much, and did he just say grandfather?

"That was Roland?" I asked with a shaky voice.

"Yes darling, now please. Go. Run Aisleen. Run far and don't forget that we love you. Keep yourself safe until we kill him. Then we'll find you and everything will be normal again. I promise." She said it with tears in her eyes. I hugged them and set the topaz pendant around my neck. It was enchanted. The chain probably grows longer when I shift.

"I love you both so much." I said and shifted into my leopard form. I ran. I ran so fast. If I stayed a minute longer it would be harder to run and leave them there. They were my life. They were everything I've ever known. I have to keep running. I have to find a way to kill Roland. I can't ever let them risk their lives for me. They've been through enough.

 


	2. Chapter 2

I couldn't remember where I was or how I got here. All I know was that I ran all night and ended up in an abandoned building. Something snapped behind me. I sensed vampires. A lot of them. This was going to be tricky. I was still in my beast form. I pounced at the person standing quietly behind me. _Thought_ _I_ _hadn't_ _heard_ _you_ _didn't_ _you_ _pretty_ _boy._ I growled as I pinned him to the ground. Now that his face was just inches away from mine 'pretty' was an understatement. The guy was in his twenties. He had a marvelous shade of auburn hair and his eyes were ice blue, a little on the silver and white side. I would say it was magnificent if the calm and cold glare he was giving me wasn't creeping the shit out of me. Even so, those strong jaws and perfect cheekbones made him look very handsome.  _Too_ _handsome, perhaps._ Did that thought just cross my mind? Oh shit, somebody kill me, please!

"Calm down kitty, I could bring those twelve vampires on your throat in one go." He calmly said with his melodious voice.

_A navigator, just my luck. As if this couldn't get any worse._

"I won't kill you." He said. I cautiously slid of him. He sat up and dusted his cloak. He was wearing jeans and a black shirt that fit him like second skin.

"Come with me. I offer you protection from the 'People'. Believe me when I say that I'm your only chance for survival."

There was sincerity in his voice that made me trust him. I eyed him suspiciously as he walked on.  _How_ _the_ _hell_ _does_ _the_ _guy_ _trust_ _me_ _enoughto_ _turn_ _his_ _back_ _on_ _me_ _while_ _I_ _can_ _pounce_ _at_ _him_ _and_ _tear_ _his_ _neck_ _off?_ _Oh,_ _right._ _He_ _had_ _twelve_ _vamps_ _to_ _tear_ _me_ _to_ _shreds_ _if_ _I_ _do anything_ _stupid._ _But_ _then_ _again,_ _I_ _could_ _tear_ _his_ _head_ _off_ _first_ _before_ _he_ _tries_ _anything._

"Are you coming or not? I can't wait for you forever you know. There's catnip and milk in my mansion if you come with me, kitty." He said with a laugh. Who the hell did he think he was? Doesn't he know better than to irritate the shit out of the pack princess? Oh, right. He didn't know that either. I growled and followed him.

It took us approximately one and a half hours to reach his so-called mansion. It was more like a palace than a mansion. There were vampire guards everywhere. How many did he pilot anyway? No matter, he wasn't a normal navigator at all. Navigators could pilot a vampire at a time. Some could pilot up to three. Special one's like Roland, Erra, and my mom could pilot many. My mother, for one, could pilot at least fifty at a time, given that those vamps would do nothing but stay still or ram their heads to the wall. And yet, this man was piloting about a hundred or so, and they weren't standing still. Some were guarding the mansion, some were trimming the yard, others were doing several things, in fact, twelve of them were zeroing on me if I ever do anything fishy. Who the hell was this guy? Some kind of a god or something?

"You look confused." He said with an amused smile.

I growled.  _Damn_ _right_ _I_ _am._

"Come, follow me, little kitty." This guy is sounding more and more like Saiman. If he goes and changes his face into Adonis I'm gonna go and kill myself. I followed him into the front doors, which were very extravagant by the way, complete with intricate hand carved designs on the door frame. He went straight to the winding stairs that led through a series of corridors. It looked like a labyrinth. I quietly followed behind him. We reached what was called the 'East Wing' as the sign above the arc says and turned left to a huge double door room. It was obviously filled with magical wards. You could almost hear the crackling sound from it. He opened the door and went in. I stayed behind. I wouldn't want those wards to fry me.

"The wards would let you through." He said. Okay, mind reader much?

I went into the room and as soon as I stepped in the doors slammed closed and I shifted.  _Dammit! The_ _wards_ _made_ _me_ _shift._ _I_ _should've known._  Exhaustion took over me as I fell face first into the thick carpeted floor. I felt strong hands carry me and set me in a soft place. It was probably the huge bed that I saw. I felt someone tuck me in the covers and I fell asleep.

Something was warm beside me, something warm and comfortable. I snuggled against it, looking for more warmth.

"So this is what our little kitty looks like." I snapped my eyes open and saw the not-so-normal navigator lying beside me.  _Oh_ _shit._ I quickly sat up and realized that I wasn't wearing anything.  _Double_ _shit._  I pulled the covers quickly. Thank the universe for my long hair. I stared at him with a stare that every other shifter in the keep would've run from. Oh, he didn't run. He didn't even flinch. He simply gave me an amused smile.  _Dammit, so_ _much_ _for_ _threats._

"Why don't we start off with introductions?"

"Why don't you give me some clothing first?"

"Why don't you stop acting like a predator when you're obviously the prey and start trusting me?"

"And so the spider tells the fly."

"You would be already dead if I wanted to kill you."

"So tell me why you didn't let your pets drink me dry while I slept like a baby in your bed."

"Because you're not my enemy and I want Roland dead." He said with an air of authority that stopped my witty comebacks.

"Why would someone like you want to kill their so called king?" I asked him with a glare.

"Because he isn't my king and I don't answer to anyone."

"A navigator obeys Roland."

"Oh yeah, like hell they do. Which bring us to, I don't know, why the hell do you think I'm a navigator?"

"Does piloting a herd of undead ring a bell?"

"Does that automatically rank me as a navigator?"

"What else could you be?"

He stared at me for a long while.  _Ran_ _out_ _of_ _words_ _didn't_ _we_ _Mr. all_ _so_ _powerful_ _and_ _annoying_ _navigator._

"What's your name?" He asked. Whoa, slow down with topic changing. Should I tell him? Oh, what do I have to lose? I needed someone as strong as he was to defeat Roland. If he was telling the truth about wanting to kill Roland, then I hit jackpot. If he was lying, well I wouldn't think of that. I was using all my luck and betting my everything at the moment.

"Aisleen Maeve." He nodded and sighed.

"Cepheus Clyde Cleo." He gave me his name, which gave me the power over his name. Why did he trust me so much? There must be a catch in there somewhere.

"What are you?" I asked cautiously. He might say that he was a three headed monster for all I care.

"Ever heard of King Cepheus in Greek mythologies?"

"Last time I checked, he was the father of Hector and Paris. What does that have to do with anything?"

"A lot."

"Care to elaborate?"

"In time."

"I mean now."

"Not now." He said and tossed a tunic dress at me that reached mid-thigh.

"What is this?"

"Clothes. Or would you rather walk around stark naked in my mansion?"

I groaned.

He rolled his eyes and said. "The bathroom’s through those doors, take a bath. I'll be waiting here. Then we shall have our supper at the dining hall."

"Gonna poison me so soon. King weirdo?"

"Not if you look lovely enough."

"I rather eat a plate of poison."

"Touché."

I walked towards the bathroom and slammed the door hard. What have I gotten myself into?

 


	3. Chapter 3

Two ugly vampires were with King Weirdo when I stepped out of the bathroom. My wet hair clung to my back and shoulders.  _Looks_ _like_ _I won't_ _be_ _able_ _to_ _dry_ _them_ _off._

"Took you long enough." He said and rolled his silver blue eyes.

"I doubt you spend your time cleaning up in the tub."

"Why's that?"

"Because you have your pets to lick you clean."

"That's just disturbing and disgusting."

"Just the appetizer I needed before you serve me poison."

"I told you, I wouldn't poison you."

"And so the spider told the fly that he wouldn't eat him."

"Would you stop the spider-fly analogies?" He snapped at me. He was growing tired of my witty remarks. Who knows, if he snaps, maybe he'll just dump me outside his mansion. Tough luck, feeding me to his pets was much closer to reality. He had nothing to lose, whereas I had everything to lose. I really should learn when to shut my mouth. I stood there staring at his eyes. He motioned me to come with him with a flick of his wrist. And before I knew it, he was guiding me down a dark hallway towards a brightly lit room.

Remarkably, the so-called dining hall wasn't as extravagant as the one in the Keep. This was a more comfy-home-type of dining hall with subtle hints of luxury. He pulled a chair for me on the right of the head chair. I sat and put on my pack princess mask which I only wore on special occasions. I was never really one for the stuffy formal parties with absurdly long gowns and dangerously high heels. I was more of the sneaker, shorts and sweaters kind of girl with two matching daggers instead of diamond earrings. But, being Curran, the Beast Lord's only daughter, I had to go and dress up like a damn princess on a tower's balcony protected by a fire breathing dragon.

The food was served. I figured that I shouldn't eat anything just in case it was poisoned so I sat there and stared at my plate filled with tenderloin, peas, and mashed potatoes.

"Maeve." The King Weirdo said in a deep voice that reverberated in my bones.

"Yes?" I answered with my pack princess mask on. Why the hell is he calling me Maeve instead of Aisleen?

"Eat."

"No."

"Humor me, my little queen." He said and reached out to touch my hand. Little Queen. He called me Little Queen. When I was younger, I could vaguely remember someone calling me that until I was about nine or ten years old. Who was it? Why can't I remember? I closed my eyes and thought about it hard. I could almost see it, a memory of me in a dark place and a scary voice. I felt cold and scared.  _No. I_ _could_ _escape. Dad_ _will_ _save_ _me._  Then I heard a laugh. A laugh that gave me chills.  _Who_ _was_ _that?_  Then I heard a melodious voice whisper behind me.  _"Come_ _to_ _me,_ _my_ _little_ _queen._ _We'll_ _get_ _you_ _out_ _of_ _here."_  I remember crawling towards the deep voice. I remember reaching my hand out. If I could just see his face. I tried hard to remember. I couldn't. I shouldn't. Who was he? Then everything turned black.

I once again felt the soft covers surrounding me. Was everything just a dream? Was I back at my room at the Keep? Maybe, just maybe, I'll see mom and dad when I finally open my eyes.

"You're crying." I opened my eyes and saw Cepheus sitting on a chair beside the bed. I reached up to touch my cheeks. Sure enough, it was wet. I intertwined my fingers on top of my lap and stared at it.

"How long was I out?"

"Eight hours. What happened to you?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter."

He sighed and let it go. I sat silently for a few minutes and heard distinct footsteps. The door opened to welcome a not-so-ugly looking vampire holding a tray of tea and biscuits.

"Eat."

"No."

"Stop being so stubborn! Do you plan on whining and drowning yourself in self-pity while your parents go off in a life threatening mission to kill the man after you? If so, you could go and kill yourself right now. Even better, I could kill you and absorb your magic right this instant."

"You knew?" I stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Of course I knew."

"How?"

"Doesn't matter."

I wanted to know, but his stoic face told me that whatever I planned to do wouldn't make him tell me anything. I sighed.

"What's your purpose of keeping me here?" I asked.

"To keep you safe and use you to kill Roland." He said in a-matter-of-fact tone.

"I can't even get close enough to touch him with a ten feet pole. What makes you think that I could kill him?"

"There are spheres."

"What spheres?"

"Spheres that holds Roland's immortality."

"And by that you mean?"

"I mean that I need your blood to break those spheres."

"How so?"

"The spheres work like blood wards and blood armors. I need a blood of a relative to break them."

"Hey genius, if it was that easy, my mom would've broken them already."

"No."

"Why."

"Her blood lost its potency when she got pregnant with you."

"Okay, I don't get it."

"Would you just be patient and let me explain everything." He flared at me.

"Fine."

"Good. You see, after three weeks when your mother was pregnant with you, her blood's potency would've destroyed you. That is also why Roland's other kids ended up being violent. Your mother was the only one who wasn’t a total lost cause. She was a special case, and maybe that was because your grandmother was a strong witch. In any case, instead of going one hundred percent blood thirsty like other of Roland's offspring, your mother ended up on fifty percent, which is why she is still living right now. When she was pregnant of you her fifty percent potent blood threatened to eradicate your existence even before you were born. Therefore, she used an ancient blood magic ritual to transfer the potency of her blood into you. The ritual helped you survive and made you into a living, breathing, human weapon. It's both a gift and a curse."

"How did she do the ritual?"

"Bran's son." He said between clenched teeth. Bran was an almost immortal who died for my mom. I don't know much about the whole story. Julie told me that my mom cried when he died and Morgan's Bell flowers sprouted from where her tears met the ground. I didn't know that Bran had a son. As far as I know, he was Morrigan's hound.

"Who's Bran's son?" I asked. I couldn't help it. The saying goes like 'curiosity killed the cat'. In this case the navigator killed the pack princess. Cepheus didn't answer he just turned around and left the room.  _What_ _did_ _I_ _do?_  Judging by the cold glare he wore and the clenched teeth he had, I must've struck a nerve.  _What_ _is_ _it_ _about_ _this_ _guy? One_ _moment_ _and_ _he's_ _teasing_ _the_ _shit_ _out_ _of_ _me,_ _and_ _then_ _another_ _he_ _goes_ _and snaps_ _on_ _me._  Talk about mood swings. Was he bipolar or something?

 


	4. Chapter 4

Three days have already passed since I first stayed at the 'Mansion'. Ever since the conversation about Bran's son, Cepheus has been obviously avoiding me. He was acting as if I had some kind of disease or something. Just yesterday, I was walking down the hall leading to the drawing room; he was on the other end of the hall, walking while holding a book. He spotted me and turned a hundred degree angle and strode to another direction. I mean it was fine with me if there were other humans on the premises. As it was, it was only the two of us living in the whole damn mansion and a few hundred undead vampires. If I didn't talk to anybody soon, I would go mad as hell and slaughter the whole household including myself. And so, I decided to confront him about the whole situation. I stood up and made my way to his room, which was technically 'our' room since he didn't trust his undead vampire pets enough while he slept; he kept me in his room. I know, very awkward. He was lounging on the couch and was reading a very thick paperback book when I opened the double doors. He looked up and stared challengingly right into my eyes.  _So much for no confrontations._

"Maeve." He said with a note of seriousness in his voice.

"We have got to stop doing this!"

"Doing what?"

"Avoiding each other like hell." I stated flatly.

"Kitty, get over yourself. I was simply busy." He said with a smug expression.

"Yeah, so busy avoiding me."

"Why would I even exert effort to avoid you, kitty? Are you even that special?" He asked with a soft twinkle in his eyes. He knew I was getting pissed off and he was enjoying it like hell. I turned and pivoted towards the door. My hand was almost touching the doorknob when he grabbed it and turned me around. He smiled.

"No more retorts, kitty?"

"Let go of me King Freak show slash Weirdo. I'm leaving and don't come after me. I wasn't so special anyway right? Now go and try to kill Roland while I do the same. I have to help my parents and fix this. I can't wait around for you forever while you lounge here and read a paperback." I tugged my wrist from his iron-like grip. No luck.

He sighed. "Alright, I'll stop annoying you and avoiding you. I'll try to act like a normal human for once. Don't leave." His sincerity took me by surprise. I dropped my gaze down and stared at his toes and the tip of my shoes. I sighed.

"Fine. But we have to move now. No more stalling."

"I understand. Tonight. Unicorn lane. One of the Spheres is hidden in the middle of Unicorn Lane. We have to go there, retrieve the sphere and come back here to destroy it."

"How big is the sphere?"

"About two inches, more or less."

"That small?"

"Seven of those. There are seven. Some were dissolved in blood."

"What do you mean?"

"Your mom has already destroyed three of them?"

"When?"

"One was inside Brono, when he died, the sphere dissolved. The other one was with Olathe, your mother broke the blood ward, breaking the sphere with it. And the third was with Erra, it also dissolved by itself and ceased to exist when she died." I stared at him. How did he know about this stuff? As if he heard what I was thinking, he shrugged.

"That leaves us with four more to go." I said.

"I know their locations. It's a matter of getting there and getting the sphere out that's the problem."

"Why?"

"Well, let's say that the one in Unicorn Lane is the easiest to retrieve." He said flatly. Holy shit, everyone knows that Unicorn Lane is dangerous enough. How could there be a place more dangerous than that. Great! My luck just gets better and better. Not. He reached out and touched my arm.

"Don't worry. We'll get it." He said warmly. One moment he was all for annoying me and killing me and another he's all warm and fuzzy. I'll never understand this guy for as long as I live.

"Besides, you have me to watch your back." He added, grinning.

"Was that literal or figurative?"

"Somewhere in between."

"Yup, try to mess with me and you'll find one of my daggers somewhere in between your eyes." I spat back. So much for the warm and fuzzy mood. The bipolar bastard can jump from serious to annoying to playful to caring as easy as breathing. And I hate how it messes up with my head. He moved closer to me. His grinning face was now only inches from mine, so close that I could feel his warm breath on my face. I smiled deviously back and his grin grew to full blown smile. I rewarded that damn smile with a hard kick in the groin. I heard him take a breath and saw him take a step back.

"Damn you! Can't you be civil for once?"

"If you can piss the shit out of me, I absolutely could piss the shit out of you!"

"What did I ever do to you?"

"I think you know the answer to that King Psycho."

"Do you mean what I did just now? I was just playing with you. In. A. Damn. Civil. Manner."

"Well forgive the pack princess if she couldn't interact with you in a civil manner while you're harassing her."

"When did I ever harass you?"

"Do you suffer short term memory loss, or are you plain stupid?"

"Yap, yap, yap. Why don't you start making sense kitty princess?"

"I was making sense. Maybe you plainly just don't understand human words. Let's see. Me, Aisleen, you King Psycho. Do you understand?"

"You think you're all funny don't you?"

"No, I think I'm very melancholic, idiot."

He grunted and started to walk away. That was it. I was sick and tired of his immature act. I gathered all my will and yelled at him.

"Stop running away from reality. Either we do this together or we don't do it at all."

"Fine. Just get the hell away from me until seven tonight. I have no other reason to see you except to use you to kill Roland anyway." He spat, and as much as I hated to admit it, his words stung.

 


	5. Chapter 5

It was almost seven as I sat and waited at the living room. Two undead vamps stood beside both sides of the archway. I glanced at the grandfather clock three steps beside the grand piano.  _Where the hell was he?_  Once again, as if reading my thoughts, he walked in the room with a smug look on his face. He looked at me and motioned with one hand.

"Look who came earlier. Can't wait for our death date at Unicorn Lane?"

"Like hell I couldn't. Couldn't wait to get the spheres and get the hell away from you."

"Why do you hate me so much?"

"I should ask you the same question."

"I never hated you, you know."

"Right. I'm supposed to buy the craps that you sell."

"You're hopeless. Can't you talk to me without all the sneering and the glaring?"

"Fine. Then tell me why you hate my guts so much."

"I don't, okay? Believe me when I say that me avoiding you is a favor for you."

"I don't buy your shit Cepheus." I said and walked towards the door. I turned around and added.

"Wanna start moving? We don't have time on our hands you know."

Cepheus sighed and followed me out of the huge doors. I continued to walk silently until we reached the stables. I took a look around and spotted a beautiful white mare in the left corner and made my way towards it. I raised my hand close to its nose and it responded with a gentle nozzle. I patted it and it complied to my will. Controlling animals were one of the special talents of the witches which were luckily passed down to me. My mother didn't have them. I was lucky to have the gift. I turned to guide the beautiful mare out of the stables when I came to see Cepheus, wide-eyed.

"What?" I asked.

"That horse hates humans. How did you do that?"

"Witch gifts." I answered with a grin.

"Handy gift to have." He said as he took his own horse and started to ride it away from the stables and away from me. I grunted and followed him.

Unicorn Lane. The death zone between tech and magic. The moon was full and it served its purpose as an illumination for the path we were going through. Everything around us lay in ruins. Everything was very still. Too still, in fact nothing moved. An eerie silence engulfed us. There has to be something here. Unicorn Lane was seldom quiet. Blowing up and sprouting demons maybe, but quiet? Hell no. We were almost reaching the center of Unicorn Lane. It wasn't that dark, thanks to the moon. There was a small cave with something shining within its little mouth. I tapped Cepheus's shoulder and pointed to it. He nodded and slowly walked towards it. Weird, there were no wards guarding the sphere. There's got to be more to this than meets the eye. Sure enough, something moved behind me. Cepheus was quiet.

 

There were about a dozen and a half vampires at the entrance of Unicorn Lane waiting for his command. We should be just about safe. I also had a pair of borrowed double daggers and he had his sword. Cepheus was a deadly bastard. He could pilot those undead vamps while using his sword to slice to his foe. I took a nervous gulp. Something was definitely moving around us. It definitely had a deadly aura. I let my eyes wander around the tree lines then suddenly, something grabbed my arm. I screamed and sliced my blades through it. Cepheus ran past me towards the woods.  _What the hell? Did he just leave me to this thing?_  I swung my dagger and the grip loosened. I turned around to face what it was. He was a mist, or should I say  _it_  was a mist. It was shaped as a man. It had arms that looked rotten and he didn't have a face.  _What the hell didn't have a face? Was that even possible?_  I shrugged the creepy feeling off and charged towards Mr. Creepy. I jumped and aimed one of my daggers towards his chest. Aim. Fire. I landed and ran on the other direction and charged once again. I threw the dagger while in mid-leap and it hit his head. The thing shrieked and writhed.  _I guess I hurt him._  I thought and smiled. The scenery had victory written all over it. The thing slowly dissolved into a thick mist and disappeared, leaving my dagger on the blood covered pavement. I turned to grab the sphere from the small cave. It wasn't there anymore.  _Well, so much for my so-called great luck._ I took a deep breath counting to ten in my head seconds passed, and then I heard a growl in the woods.  _Cepheus. Dammit he was out there._  I ran towards the woods where I heard the sound come from. Another growl. I stared wide-eyed into the field in front of me.

Cepheus was a shifter. No, he couldn't be. He didn't look like a normal shifter at the very least. He had the massive body of a bear, the head of a huge wolf, the claws of a lion, and the power of a navigator. He was just like me. No, he wasn't like me. He was like Bran, Morrigan's hound. My mom once told me how Bran shifted into something that looked like a shifter but was more like a beast in rage. I shuddered at the thought. Was he Bran's son? A loud growl snapped me out of my reverie.

Vampires where jumping out from the trees, attacking the mist-like creatures that where targeting Cepheus while he fought with the ones that were within a closer proximity of his beastly reach.  _Where was the sphere?_  Another mist-like creature was closing in on Cepheus. I aimed my dagger and threw it across the woods. It hit the creature on its head.

"Bull's eye." I grinned.

"You look like you're having shitloads of fun kitty." He said in a deep voice that sounded close to a growl. I gave him a toothy grin.

Something bright appeared amidst all the chaos and blinded our sight for a few seconds. Cepheus roared beside me.

"Look what we have here." A voice within the bright light said.

"Desino." The voice said and the mist-like creatures disappeared slowly.

"I believe you came here for this?" He said and raised the sphere in his fingers.

"Give us the sphere!" Cepheus said in a calm voice.

"Here you go." The cloaked figure said as it threw the sphere towards us. Cepheus caught it and glared at the cloaked figure. What? That’s it? That easy?

"You are searching for those. I give you the first one, as a gift, a reward for giving me an exciting evening. If you seek the second sphere, heed my words." He paused as if to check if we were listening.

"What always runs but never walks, often murmurs, never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a mouth but never eats. Find what lies beneath and claim what is bequeathed." He finished.  _Good golly! Am I the new riddle hunter?_

"What do you mean?" Cepheus roared. The cloaked man began to vanish. Cepheus lunged at it but just went right through. Another second, everything seems normal again. No more mist-like creatures hovering around us. Beside me Cepheus shifted in his human form, leaving him in all his naked glory. Great! Just what I needed. Not. I took of my cloak and covered him with it.

"Maeve." He said.

"Shut up. Let's go home. We'll destroy this sphere, and then we'll talk. Don't worry." I said as I helped him get up.  _He had a lot of explaining to do. And me? I need to know the truth about him and Bran's son once and for all._

 


	6. Chapter 6

We entered the mansion. Cepheus' wounds were already healing but he groaned every step we took all the same.

"Room kitty. I don't know how much longer I could stand."

I sighed. "Your wish is my command."

"Are you rolling your eyes at me?"

"Why, not at all King Weirdo."

He sighed.

"When are we gonna start to get along?" He asked, his tone dripping with exasperation.

"After you explain to me what happened there." I answered as we entered the room.

I laid him down on the bed and made sure he was comfortable then made my way to the bathroom. So much has happened today. I need some time to organize my thoughts.

I spotted the huge tub behind me that looks exactly like the one I had in the keep. Maybe it won't be so bad if I take a long leisurely bath. Cepheus was resting anyways. And I wouldn't get the answers I was looking for until much later.

I filled the tub with water and peach scented bath oils and got in. Oh this was heaven. I felt so relaxed in the water. Cepheus made me feel different. I'm a single eighteen-year-old shifter slash navigator slash witch and he still made me feel different. Maybe that was because I never got close to any male shifters in the keep. They were all terrified that the beast lord would snap their necks if they so much as breath in my direction. I sighed. Everyone my age in the keep already slept with someone or had their own beaus. Which left me cold and alone, but then again that's what drove me to train more. Maybe it was a good thing.

I closed my eyes and let myself drift away into a calming sleep.

 

 

"Maeve?"

"Hmmm."

"Wake up."

"A few more minutes mom." I muttered sleepily and slipped.

I gasped. Why the hell was there water in my bed? Wait there wasn't water in my bed. I opened my eyes. I was in a tub. I was in a tub in Cepheus' so-called 'Mansion'. And he is staring at me. Oh and I was naked. Wait, what?!

"Nice to see that you're already awake although I must say I was quite enjoying the view."

"Sonnova- get the fuck out of here Cepheus!" I screamed as I tried to cover myself.

"Nothing there that I haven't seen already, kitty." He said with a glint on his eyes.

"Out!"

"Alright. I guess I won't tell you that good news I was supposed to say."

"What? Wait!" I called out but he was already walking out of the bathroom, laughter trailing behind him. He looked better. His wounds were gone as well as the dark circles under his eyes.

I stood up from the tub and rinsed myself. Time to see what this good news is.

 

 

I grabbed one robe and padded to his room and down to the living room barefoot. No use dressing up if there's only him in the whole place.

Cepheus was sitting in the couch in front of two familiar faces.

"Aunt Julie! Derek! You're safe! Where's my mom and dad? Are they safe? Where are the others?"

"Whoa there, easy love." That was Aunt Julie.

"I'm afraid we have both good news and bad news." Derek said.

"Tell me please." I said. Where was my mom and dad.

"Most of the pack escaped. Although the beast lord ordered them to scatter so they wouldn't be easily spotted. And your parents well..." Derek trailed off and gestured to Aunt Julie.

She looked at Cepheus and sighed.

"Come with me love, I'll bring you to your parents. Doolittle is with them."

Aunt Julie led me to a small room on the second floor north wing. She opened the door and I saw the two people I love most in my life.

"Mom, dad?"

They weren't moving. They look too still to be sleeping as well. My mother looked pale and lifeless. A cold shudder went up my spine.

"What's wrong with them, Aunt Julie?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"Do you mind giving us a little privacy?" She asked Doolittle kindly.

He smiled sadly at me and left the room.

Aunt Julie sighed beside me.

"What's wrong with them?" I asked again, feeling that knot of dread in the pit of my stomach.

"Roland attacked your father first." She started, tears clouding her beautiful eyes.

"Then Kate. Well, you know your mother. She jumped in and protected your father from the blast. After that happened, Roland seemed scared. I think he didn't mean for that spell to hit your mother. He started blowing things up and left the keep in ruins. Doolittle tried everything to heal your mother. But it seemed like nothing was working she was alive physically. But there wasn't any spark of life within her. Your father went wild and turned loupe. Doolittle placed him in a coma to keep both him and your mother safe for the moment."

"This can't be happening." I sobbed. But I knew it was.

"We can still save them." Cepheus said. He was leaning on the door frame. I didn't even hear him come in.

"What do you mean? We need to save them! I'll do everything to save them."

"Well then kitty, think about it. Roland cast the spell that hit your mother. Don't you think that if we kill him the spell would be lifted?" He asked.

"But Curran?" Julie asked, grasping the last string of hope.

"He'll be fine as soon as Kate is okay." He said confidently.

Looking at him I steeled my resolve. I would kill Roland. I would save them even if it kills me. A cold smile came from his lovely lips. He wanted this as much as I did. But the question is, why?


End file.
